The present invention relates to medical devices for assisting physically impaired and handicapped individuals, and more particularly pertains to an assist device or turn stand which facilitates movement of the individual from one location to an adjacent location, for example, from a bed to a wheelchair or from a wheelchair to a commode.
The medical technology industry has produced a wide range of devices to facilitate movement and ambulation of physically impaired and handicapped individuals. Among the devices conceived by the medical technology industry and in widespread use are motorized wheelchairs, walkers, motorized carts, and prostheses for the arm, hand, foot, and leg. In addition, various types of transfer stands have been employed to transfer the individual from one location or position to an adjacent location or position. The transfer stands currently being used are not designed to move the individual across a distance which may be from a kitchen through a living room and to a bedroom. Instead, the only purpose of any transfer stand is to facilitate the transfer of the individual from one position or location to an adjacent position or location.
Furthermore, the transfer stand can only be used for individuals who, despite their physical impairments, are able to support themselves in an upright position with their arms on the transfer stand. Because the individual will only be positioned on the transfer stand for a brief time, it is not necessary that the individual possess the arm strength of a healthy, able-bodied person. The individual need only possess a minimal amount of arm strength for briefly maintaining himself or herself in a generally upright position on the transfer stand. In addition, it is necessary that the individual being transferred from one location to another by the transfer stand be attended and partly assisted by another person such as a hospital orderly, a visiting nurse, or a resident of the household. The individual for whom the turn stand is designed generally will not be able to move by himself from a bed to an adjacently positioned transfer stand and will not be able to get off a commode and position himself upon an adjacent transfer stand by his own physical exertions, so another person will be required for assistance in moving, lifting, standing, and sitting the individual.
The prior art discloses a number of transfer stands for accomplishing the above-described goal of moving a physically impaired individual from one location to another. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,388 discloses a rotatable transfer stand which employs a treadle means to lock the platform after the platform has been rotated. U.S. Pat. No. 2,975,435 discloses an invalid transfer apparatus which employs a hydraulic system to lift and transfer an invalid from one location to another. U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,509 discloses a patient transfer stand which includes retractable casters for rolling the stand on the floor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,043 discloses a transfer stand which includes support structure which supports the individual on the stand. U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,003 discloses a device for transferring the disabled which includes a selectively tiltable saddle, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,137 discloses an apparatus for maneuvering a physically impaired individual which includes a lock mechanism for stopping rotation of the platform.
Despite the ingenuity of the foregoing devices, there remains a need for a transfer device or stand which is sturdy, durable, easy to manually engage and disengage for rotation when the individual is disposed thereupon, and can accommodate individuals of varying heights and having various arm lengths.